Part 2: The Morning Song of Tikun

Introduction:

When we view all the diverse forces within
the creation – including forces which seem
to be opposite of each other – we are to
remember the One and Unifying Source of all
creation. This higher consciousness is
expressed in the following Divine message:

“I am the One Who forms light and creates
darkness; Who makes shalom and creates evil;
I am Hashem, Maker of all these.” (Isaiah
45:7)

“Who makes shalom and creates evil” – The
Hebrew word for evil is rah, and as
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch teaches, it is
related to the Hebrew word rah’u’ah –
broken, shattered (commentary to Genesis
2:9). Rabbi Hirsch explains that evil
appears as something broken, when the moral
harmony of the universe is disturbed, and
when the whole is no longer ruled by a
unifying purpose. The Unifying One Who made
“shalom” – harmony, wholeness, and peace –
also created the potential for rah
which enables human beings to develop a
“broken” world. Our prophets and sages
indicate that there are profound and
mystical reasons why this potential for
rah exists. As human history
demonstrates – beginning with the sin of
Adam and Eve – human beings have the ability
to actualize this potential for evil;
nevertheless, deep within their souls, human
beings have the potential and the power to
do a tikun – fixing – of our broken
world through rediscovering and actualizing
the unifying Divine plan for the world.

In this letter we shall discuss a teaching
about two morning prayers which use an
euphemism for the word rah. The
prayers within the Siddur – classical
Prayer Book – were written by prophets and
leading sages who also understood the deeper
mystical meaning of each word; thus, I do
not claim to know all the reasons why they
chose to use an euphemism for rah
within these morning prayers. I will,
however, suggest two possible reasons:

1. The morning, with the rising of the sun,
conveys a message of hope and rebirth – a
message which is also expressed in the
uplifting morning prayers. In order to
preserve this hopeful and uplifting mood, an
euphemism was used for the word rah
within these morning prayers.

2. Our task is to eradicate rah from
the world; thus, the use of an euphemism for
rah alludes to the eventual
disappearance of evil from the world.

Dear Friends,

We shall continue our discussion of the
poetic song, Adon Olam. The next
verse states:

“After all has ceased to be, the Awesome One
will reign alone.”

Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld was a leading
sage of the late 19th century
and early 20th century who lived
in Jerusalem, and he asked the following
question regarding the above verse: If all
ceases to exist, over what will God reign?
By definition, “reigning” presupposes the
existence of subjects over whom one rules!

Rabbi Sonnenfeld therefore explains that the
verse does not literally mean that “all”
will cease to exist, for within rabbinic
literature, the word “all” is also used as
an euphemism for evil; thus, the verse
really means, “After evil has ceased to be.”
The source for this explanation, says Rabbi
Sonnenfeld, is in the Talmud (Brochos 11b).
The Talmud discusses another verse from our
morning prayers which describes Hashem as
the One “Who forms light and creates
darkness, makes peace and creates all.” The
Talmud points out that this verse is based
on the biblical verse, “I am the One Who
forms light and creates darkness; Who makes
peaces and creates evil” (Isaiah 45:7). The
only difference between the verse in our
prayers and the biblical verse is that the
verse in our prayers replaces the word
“evil” with “all.” The reason for this
substitution, the Talmud briefly explains,
is to avoid in this prayer the use of the
pessimistic, negative-sounding word “evil.”
The word “all” includes evil along with
everything else in the universe, so that
Hashem’s creation of evil can be insinuated
through this word without mentioning it
explicitly.

Rabbi Sonnenfeld concludes: Here too, in the
Adon Olam, when the poet says, “After
all has ceased to be,” he does not mean
“all” literally, but rather uses it as an
euphemism for evil. After evil has ceased to
be, the Awesome One will reign alone.

How will the challenge of evil be
eliminated? The beginning of an answer can
be found in the following prophecy
concerning the messianic age of universal
enlightenment when the knowledge of the
Compassionate and Life-Giving One will fill
the earth:

“The earth will be filled with knowledge of
Hashem as water covering the sea bed”
(Isaiah 11:9).

In this age of universal enlightenment, all
human beings will finally realize that they
were created to serve the compassionate and
life-giving Divine purpose; thus, “They will
all proclaim the Name of Hashem and serve
Him with a united resolve” (Zephaniah 3:9).
Through this universal higher consciousness,
evil will cease to be, and “the Awesome One
will reign alone.” In this spirit, we say at
the conclusion of each prayer service:

“Hashem will be the Sovereign over all the
earth; on that day Hashem will be One and
His Name One” (Zechariah 14:9).

At the dawn of this new age, when the
Compassionate and Life-Giving One is
recognized as the Sovereign of the earth,
human arrogance and tyranny will cease;
however, life on earth will not cease. In
fact, the following prophecy reveals that
life on earth will flourish in this new age,
for humankind, together with all creatures,
will once again experience the harmony and
shalom of the Garden of Eden:

“The wolf will live with the sheep, and the
leopard will lie down with the kid; and a
calf, a lion whelp and a fatling together,
and a young child will lead them. A cow and
bear will graze and their young will lie
down together; and a lion, like cattle, will
eat hay. A suckling will play by a viper’s
hole; and a newly weaned child will stretch
his hand towards an adder’s lair. They will
neither injure nor destroy in all of My
sacred mountain; for the earth will be
filled with knowledge of Hashem as water
covering the sea bed.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)

In the spirit of the above prophecy, we
chant the following words during the prayers
of Shabbos afternoon: “Human and animal You
will save, Hashem” (Psalm 36:7).

Have a Good and Uplifting Shabbos,

Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen (See below)

Related Comments:

1. On Shabbos and the Festivals, many Jewish
communities sing Adon Olam at the end
of the morning service.

2. The above teaching from Rabbi Yosef Chaim
Sonnenfeld is found in a collection of his
teachings on the weekly Torah portion
titled: “Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld on the
Parashah.” It was compiled by Rabbi Shlomo
Zalman Sonnenfeld and published by ArtScroll:
www.artscroll.com/linker/hazon/home

The author of the above book also wrote a
fascinating and inspiring biography of Rabbi
Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld: “Guardian of
Jerusalem.” Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnefeld was
a leading sage and community activist who
was part of the Torah-observant community
within the Land of Israel that preceded the
secular Zionist movement. Rabbi Sonnenfeld
felt that the secular Zionist ideology which
viewed “nationalism” as the purpose of the
Promised Land was an ideology that
contributed to the “brokenness” of our
people and the world. He therefore stressed
that the unifying spiritual vision of the
Torah serves as the purpose of the Land,
which he described as, “the Holy Land to
which G-d affords special supervision, from
which blessing emanates to the rest of the
world, and in which God’s prophets foresaw
the future happiness of all humanity.” He
urged Jewish men and women to rebuild the
Land and work the Land with this sacred
vision in mind; moreover, he himself was
actively involved in expanding Jerusalem by
building new neighborhoods outside the Old
City walls, and he also was involved in the
establishment of new agricultural
settlements. The vision stressed by this
sage is a vision of tikun which we all need,
which may be why people from diverse Jewish
communities have thanked me for recommending
this book! The following is a direct link
for additional information:
http://www.artscroll.com/linker/hazon/ASIN/GUAH